"#MyPalestinianSitty is trending and I am overcome with emotions realizing how we are finally humanizing one of the world’s most dehumanized peoples"

Published Aug 18, 2019 at 7:16 PM

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In this May 9, 2019, file photo, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks during an event with activist groups to deliver over ten million petition signatures to Congress urging the U.S. House of Representatives to start impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Palestinians shared sweet and sometimes harrowing stories of their grandmother's lives on social media Saturday after Michigan Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib announced she wouldn't be visiting her grandmother in the West Bank, NBC News reports.

Tlaib announced Friday she would not visit her grandmother in the West Bank after Israel placed what she called "oppressive conditions" on her trip. Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said in a statement that Israel had decided to approve Tlaib's entry for "a humanitarian visit" to her grandmother.

"I approved her request as a gesture of goodwill on a humanitarian basis, but it was just a provocative request, aimed at bashing the State of Israel. Apparently her hate for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother," Deri said in a tweet Friday.

In response, social media users took to Twitter to post the stories of their Palestinian grandmothers, many of whom survived war. The hashtag #MyPalestinianSitty began to trend, as "sitty" is the Arabic word for "my grandmother." Tlaib and Omar retweeted and liked many of the posts.

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"#MyPalestinianSitty is trending and I am overcome with emotions realizing how we are finally humanizing one of the world’s most dehumanized peoples," Omar tweeted Saturday.